Ah, Annual Exams

Today I made my annual (er ... semiannual ... oops) trip to my ob/gyn for an exam. In general, I avoid going to the doctor unless absolutely necessary. I've had too much insurance trouble, so I'm always leery of how a visit will affect my finances and my insurance coverage down the road. I've also had my fair share of experience with less-than-stellar doctors, so I'd rather avoid them all if possible.

That being said, I love my ob/gyn. She's young, down-to-earth, chatty. I go in for an exam and, despite the fact I'm laying there practically naked with my feet in stirrups, I feel almost as if we're on a coffee date. She's practical, too, though. She explains things clearly and honestly. Not to mention the fact she did a stellar job (as far as I can tell) removing my right ovary and the giant cyst attached to it a few years ago.

Today, I came into the appointment knowing I wanted to stop taking my Depo shot and get back on some form of birth control pill in the hopes it might help me manage my endometriosis. Plus I have some concerns about Depo—low bone density runs in my family, and I also know it can take longer to conceive after you've been on Depo than on other forms of birth control. It worked well for me while I was nursing my son, but I've known for a while it's time to move on to something else.

We briefly discussed the reasons why I wanted to stop taking Depo, what pills I'd been on before I got pregnant, what my endo symptoms were, and whether I was hoping to get pregnant again in the near future. Within minutes, my doc was outlining a plan.

And the new pill pack begins ...

She explained that this time rather than taking ortho-tricyclen, as I did for years before I got pregnant, she was going to prescribe ortho-cyclen. One reason is that it doesn't have the hormone fluctuations the tri version has, so should I decide to skip the placebo week of pills (so I can skip my period), I won't be on such a rollercoaster of hormone changes.

For the next couple of months, I'm going to take my pill packs as prescribed—placebo week and all. My doc wants us to get a sense of exactly what my symptoms are going to be like when I have my period, which I haven't done since before I was pregnant (so, almost two years ago now).

Then, if my symptoms continue to bother me or get worse when I start having my period again (cross your fingers they won't; but let's be honest, they probably will), she'll call in a new script for me so I can start skipping the placebo week of the ortho-cyclen.

If all goes according to plan, I shouldn't have to contact her after that until we're ready to start trying to have another little one, in which case I'll need to get on pre-natal vitamins again.

However, if my endo pain gets worse or changes drastically, I'm supposed to call her so she can set up an ultrasound, in the hopes that we can spot any new cysts that might get in the way of conceiving baby number two.

(Hopefully we don't have to worry about that—the doc said my lonely left ovary felt good this morning, so keep your fingers crossed!)